4-E (energy–exergy–environmental–economic) analyses of line-focusing stand-alone concentrating solar power plants

摘要

In this study, energy–exergy–environmental–economic (4-E) analyses of stand-alone line-focusing concentrating solar power plants are carried out for different plant capacities ranging from 1 to 50 MW_e. Solar power plants based on concentrating power technologies are used to harness the solar radiation effectively. Among the solar power technologies, line-focusing concentrating systems such as linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) and parabolic trough collector (PTC) are simple in design and cost-effective with high dispatchability. The energy and exergy efficiencies of various components of the solar field and power block are determined. The overall energy and exergy efficiencies of 50-MW_e LFR power plants are estimated as 12.17 and 17.21% and 23.16 and 32.76%, respectively, for the PTC power plant. The results show that a maximum energy loss occurs in the solar field and power block for LFR and PTC power plants respectively, and a maximum exergy loss occurs in the solar field for both power plants. The analyses of solar power plants have been carried out to estimate the environmental benefits; the results showed that a 1-MW_e stand-alone line-focusing concentrating solar power plant can save 1813 tonnes of CO₂, 12.52 tonnes of SO₂, 6.23 tonnes of NO_x and 0.98 tonnes of particulate matter annually compared with that of an Indian subcritical coal power plant. The levelized electricity cost for the LFR- and PTC-based stand-alone solar power plant varies from INR 14.77 to INR 10.19 and INR 14.7 to INR 8.48 for the plant capacities that vary from 1 to 50 MW_e.